AUTOMATED BODY CONDITION SCORE MEASUREMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

Described herein is an automated body condition score (BCS) measurement apparatus and methods of use. More specifically, an apparatus and methods of use are described that automate the process of testing an animal's body condition score and minimise animal handling and errors in measurement of body condition score.

BACKGROUND ART

Automation of many aspects of testing and measurement particularly in farming applications has been evolving rapidly over time as the number of farmed animals increase and as supporting technology has evolved. Many automated processes are now in place to measure various aspects of animal condition such as animal weight and animal I D tags. Based on the measurements taken, a variety of decisions may be taken such as determining animal health and determining animal value.

One important measure in deciding both animal health and value is body condition score (BCS). Body condition score is a measure of an animal's general health and energy reserves. For sheep, the amount of muscle and fat on a ewe provides an important indicator to a farmer that a given ewe has sufficient body reserves (condition) for pregnancy for rearing her lambs. When applied to sheep, the BCS scale follows a five-point scale, 1 being thin and 5 being fat. Sheep with a BCS over 3 have a variety of improved health markers including higher conception rates, higher lamb survival and faster growth.

For dairy cows, BCS affects dry matter intake, milk production, reproduction, and cow health and welfare. In addition, BCS in early lactation may affect the sex of future calves and the productive and reproductive capacity of heifers yet to be born. The scale may differ slightly in dairy cows - for example, milk production is optimised when mature cows calve between a BCS score of 5.0 to 6.0, however there is often a compromise around calving BCS targets between wanting cows with sufficient energy reserves for milk production, while not being as fat as to compromise cow health. As should be appreciated from this discussion, having an accurate estimate of BCS may be useful in making decisions about animal health and, therefore, maximising animal production.

Despite the usefulness of the BCS measure, art methods of testing BCS are somewhat crude and unreliable. The most common method of assessing BCS is visually for example by the farmer looking at the animal and deciding on the BCS score. This method is unreliable, subjective, labour intensive and requires some skill to assess different animal varieties and is compromised by the depth of fleece. An alternative method of assessment requires hand palpitation of the animal to assess the BCS score. This is more accurate depending on the experience of the person doing the palpitation; however it is very labour intensive, subjective and time consuming. By way of example, a trial was completed on a farm with two staff working full time to measure the BCS of 16,500 ewes via the palpitation method. This trial took a total of two weeks to complete.

Historically, the girth of the chest at a position in line with the heart has been seen as a proxy for body weight and, more recently, has been shown to be related to BCS (Russel et al J Agric Sci 1969; Holman et al Am J Exp Agr 2012). There have been attempts to capture the BCS of cows and deer from digital images (Azzaro et al J Dairy Sci 2011; Fioretti et al

www.icar.org/cork_2012/Manuscripts/Published/Fioretti.pdf ). These methods however do not lend themselves to a practical high throughput method for use on farm. A further method tested by the applicant utilised thermal imaging to capture the BCS of sheep and, while successful, also shows that it would be too cumbersome and costly at present to develop for on-farm use.

WO2010/063527 describes a three dimensional camera system to measure animal BCS. The cameras are directed at an animal to record a three dimensional image of the animal, which is then processed to determine the animal BCS. This method is not ideal in that it requires relatively expensive equipment (the three dimensional camera/s). The method is a static system - that is during image capture, the camera and animal must be stationary. In practice, animals are rarely still unless in a crush, hence image capture may not be ideal particularly for animals that are more flighty such as sheep or cattle. In addition, the camera needs to be fixedly mounted hence the apparatus/method is not portable. Finally, cameras are not ideal in farm environments where the equipment may be around wind, water, chemicals, dust and dirt generally as well as extremes of temperature.

It should be appreciated that an apparatus and method that automates BCS measurement may be desirable particularly if the apparatus and method also increases the accuracy, objectiveness, speed of measurement, minimises cost and/or also reduces labour requirements, or at least provides the public with a choice.

Further aspects and advantages of the apparatus and methods will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.

SUMMARY

Described herein is an apparatus and methods of use to automate the process of measuring animal body condition score (BCS) based on measurement of animal width and from these data and comparison to known animal databases, calculating the BCS.

In a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus to measure the body condition score (BCS) of an animal, the apparatus comprising:

(a) an enclosure;

(b) an animal;

(c) at least one animal width and/or height sensing member located on or about the enclosure; and wherein, when relative movement occurs between the animal and the at least one width and height sensing member, the animal width and height are measured about at least one point along the animal body which is then used to calculate a body condition score (BCS) for the animal.

In a second aspect there is provided a method of determining the BCS of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensing member;

(c) using the width and/or height results to determine BCS.

In a third aspect there is provided a method of determining the weight of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensing member;

(c) using the width and/or height results to determine animal weight.

In a fourth aspect there is provided a method of determining the meat yield of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensing member; (c) using the width and/or height results to determine animal meat yield.

In addition to meat yield, optimal meat cuts may also be established based on knowing the BCS of the animal.

In a fifth aspect there is provided a method of selecting animals based on their nutritional needs by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensing member;

(c) using the width results to determine BCS and using the BCS results to separate animals

according to their nutritional needs.

Advantages of the above apparatus and method include the ability to automate the collection of BCS data on animals. The apparatus and method dramatically speed up the process of data capture - in the examiners experience, 16,500 ewes could be accurately analysed for BCS within 2 days as opposed to art methods like palpitation that take up to two weeks to complete. The apparatus is relatively low tech and simple to manufacture and set up hence it is lower cost than art methods using thermal imaging and it is robust enough to handle the extremes of farm yard usage. A further advantage is that by automating this process, labour resource can be re-deployed on other tasks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the apparatus and method will become apparent from the following description that is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an apparatus showing a sheep inside a race with one door shown and the opposing door removed for clarity;

Figure 2 illustrates a plan view of the apparatus illustrating a sheep passing through the race and the relationship of the animal with the discs, doors (both) and the race walls; Figure 3 illustrates a detail view from above showing the of the disc, a race wall and one side of the animal;

Figure 4 illustrates a side view of the apparatus showing the animal part way through the

apparatus;

Figure 5 illustrates a front view of the apparatus again showing the relationship between the animal and the various parts noting that the ground level is not shown;

Figure 6 illustrates a second plan view of an animal in the apparatus and noting specific points measured by the sensors;

Figure 7 illustrates a detail perspective view of an arm section with a cluster of discs at one end;

Figure 8 illustrates a detail plan view of an arm section;

Figure 9 illustrates a detail side view of an arm section;

Figure 10 illustrates a detail perspective view of a door;

Figure 11 illustrates a detail plan view of a door;

Figure 12 illustrates an example of a captured profile of a ewe (BCS=3.5). The vertical lines across the sheep body indicate where the processor has identified the shoulders, chest, flank and rump;

Figure 13 shows the correlation between Body weight (BWT) and body condition score (BCS) among 57 cows at Tokanui farm;

Figure 14 shows the relationship between BCS determined by palpation and that predicted from multiple regression components of shoulder width, chest width, flank width, rump width and hip height;

Figure 15 shows the relationship between BWT weighed with scales and that predicted from multiple regression components of shoulder width, flank width, rump width and withers height;

Figure 16 illustrates a perspective view of an alternative BCS apparatus showing a cow inside a race with one door shown and the opposing door removed for clarity;

Figure 17 is a plan view of the alternative BCS apparatus;

Figure 18 is a front elevation view of the alternative BCS apparatus; Figure 19 is a side view of an alternative BCS apparatus;

Figure 20 is a detail perspective view of the rotor arm; and

Figure 21 is a perspective view of an alternative slide arm embodiment of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted above, described herein is an apparatus and methods of use to automate the process of measuring animal body condition score (BCS) based on measurement of animal width and from this data and comparison to known animal databases, calculating the BCS.

For the purposes of this specification, the term 'about' or 'approximately' and grammatical variations thereof mean a quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that varies by as much as 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% to a reference quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length.

The term 'substantially' or grammatical variations thereof refers to at least about 50%, for example 75%, 85%, 95% or 98%.

The term 'comprise' and grammatical variations thereof shall have an inclusive meaning - i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements.

The term 'enclosure' or grammatical variations thereof refers in a simplest form, a structure that restricts animal movement at least during the width measurement step or steps outlined below.

In a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus to measure the body condition score (BCS) of an animal, the apparatus comprising:

(a) an enclosure;

(b) an animal;

(c) at least one animal width and/or height sensor located on or about the enclosure; and wherein, when relative movement occurs between the animal and the at least one width and/or height sensor, the animal width is measured about at least one point along the animal body which is then used to calculate a body condition score (BCS) for the animal.

The at least one width and/or height sensor may in one embodiment generate a signal that is received by a processor and the processor uses the measured width to calculate the BCS for the animal. The sensed animal width parameter or parameters may be converted to a signal that is received by a processor which converts the measured width to a BCS based on a predetermined correlation. The processor may for example be a computer, stand-alone encoder or mobile device. The signal generated by the at least one sensor may be transferred via wires or wirelessly via a wireless network to the processor.

As noted above, relative movement occurs between the width and/or height sensing sensor or sensors and the animal. The enclosure may in one embodiment be substantially stationary and the animal walks through the enclosure during animal width sensing ('walk through' enclosure). This may be a useful configuration for a walk through apparatus such as in a race further described below. Alternatively, the animal may remain in a substantially stationary position relative to the enclosure while the enclosure and/or animal width sensor or sensors move during animal width sensing. This may be a useful configuration for a milking parlour environment where the cow remains stationary for a period of time. This relative movement differs to static camera or thermal imaging art methods that utilise a fixed camera capturing an image of a stationary animal.

The enclosure may comprise opposing side walls defining an elongated space therein, the side walls being spaced to allow only one animal at a time between the walls. The enclosure width may be approximately 400, or 450, or 500, or 550, or 600, or 650, or 700, or 750, or 800, or 850, or 900, or 950, or 1000mm wide. The width may be approximately 400 to 1000mm wide. As may be appreciated, the enclosure width may vary depending on the animal size which in turn may be related to animal species, breed and age. The sizes noted are provided by way of example and actual values may vary from this range. The enclosure length may be at least approximately 500mm long. Embodiment's trialled by the inventor has been successful with a 1 metre length although this length may be varied to suit the desired application and animal species, breed and size or other design factors and aesthetics.

The at least one animal width and/or height sensor may be located about or on the enclosure wall or walls.

The apparatus may comprise at least two opposing animal width and/or height sensors. In this embodiment, the animal passes through the opposing sensors. An opening may exist between the animal width sensors. The opening may be towards an exit path for the animal. The opening between the sensors in the at rest position may be sized smaller than the animal width but wide enough to allow the animal to see the way forwards through the enclosure and, therefore, encourage movement. The height detection sensors may consist of sending and receiving LEDs, or lasers, mounted to opposing sides of the device with sensors separated in 0.5, 1, 2, 3, or 4 cm divisions. As may be appreciated, in an animal movement embodiment, a perceived exit path to an animal will encourage movement in that direction when in an enclosed environment. During the measurement step when the animal moves through the enclosure, the animal is not impeded and may move naturally without being forced to stop.

As noted above, the width sensing sensor or sensors may be mounted to the enclosure wall or walls. Where only one width sensor is used, the sensor may be mounted on only one wall. In typical embodiments, two or more sensors may be used, linked to opposing walls. Where opposing sensors are used, the sensors or at least the measurement sensor portion thereof may be substantially inline so as to oppose each other when an animal passes between the opposing sensors. The at least one animal width sensor may be a mechanical component that contacts or nearly contacts the side of an animal. Contact may be against the animal skin. The term near may refer to a gap existing between the animal width sensor and the animal side. This gap may be comparatively small being at least less than 50, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10, or 5, or 4, or 3, or 2 or 1mm between the animal side and the sensor or a part thereof.

The at least one animal width sensor may be an arm or arms extending from the enclosure wall or walls that the animal touches as relative movement occurs between the animal and apparatus.

The arm or arms may include at least one sensor that measures arm movement in a horizontal plane. In one embodiment, the arm or arms may comprise at least one sensor measuring arm position relative to at least one fixed point, the variation in movement between the arm and fixed point corresponding to the animal width. As noted above, the arm or arms or a part thereof may be positioned within the enclosure so as to contact the animal as the animal passes through the race and arms. The arm or arms move relative to the race wall or walls and in doing so describe a path specific to the animal width. By tracking arm movement, the sensor or sensors can determine the animal width. The arm movement sensor or sensors may be at least one linear transducer or transducers.

The arm or arms or a part thereof that contacts the animal may also comprise at least one sensor. Sensors located at the contact point may assist in collating accurate data on animal width for subsequent processing. The sensor or sensors located at the contact point may be at least one encoder.

In one embodiment, a sensor or sensors tracking arm movements may provide a gross scale of animal width while the contact point sensor or sensors provide a fine scale to determine animal width.

The at least one arm may be biased to an animal blocking position. A bias mechanism may be used to urge the arms back to an 'at rest' position at least partially blocking the path of the animal. The bias mechanism may be a spring or springs. The 'at rest' position may be defined by a stop or stops that prevent full closure of the arms leaving an opening between the arms for the animal to pass through. The arm or arms may pivot about a pivot point to move in a horizontal plane relative to the animal width. In this embodiment, the arm or arms may be axially mounted to the side wall or walls of the enclosure. Axial mounting allows the arm or arms to rotate outwards from an at rest position so as to allow the animal to pass through the arms. In an alternative embodiment, the arm or arms may be mounted to the enclosure wal l or walls so they extend approximately perpendicularly from the wall or walls. The arms may then push back and forth along a fixed path when the animal passes.

The arm or arms may move along a slide or slides in a horizontal plane relative to the animal width. The slide or slides may be a rail or track that allows the arm to move along a prescribed path when a force is applied to the arm or arms from an animal. The prescribed path may be a generally linear path.

In the above embodiments, the arm or arms may be fixed in a vertical plane and are constrained to only move in a horizontal plane (one degree of freedom of movement) when the animal passes through the apparatus.

The arm may incorporate at least one animal contacting ending. The animal contacting ending may have a generally circular shape. The animal contacting ending may rotate. Rotation may be useful so to allow ease of movement of the animal through the arms and a circular shape may be useful to encourage or at least minimise resistance to rotation.

The animal contacting ending may in one embodiment be a roller or rollers. The roller or rollers may be aligned in a substantially vertical plane when animal width sensing occurs. The roller or rollers may be cylindrical in shape, the longitudinal outer face contacting or nearly contacting the animal. The at least one roller or a part thereof may swing away from the animal when animal width sensing is not being completed. Movement away may be useful so as to avoid having a restriction in the field of vision of the animal and also avoids unwanted touching of the animal face or eyes.

In an alternative embodiment, the animal contacting ending may incorporate at least one rotating disc. The at least one rotating disc may rotate about a generally vertical axis of rotation. The at least one disc surface may be in an approximately horizontal plane and the disc circumference or a part thereof contacts the animal. The at least one rotating disc or a part thereof may swing away from the animal when animal width sensing is not being completed. Movement away may be useful so as to avoid having a restriction in the field of vision of the animal and also avoids unwanted touching of the animal face or eyes.

In one embodiment, the disc diameter may be at least approximately 10, or 20, or 30, or 40, or 50, or 60, or 70, or 80, or 90, or 100, or 110, or 120, or 130, or 140, or 150, or 160, or 170, or 180, or 190, or

200mm. The disc or discs may be approximately 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10mm thick.

The animal contacting ending may have a plurality of aligned discs with a common substantially vertical axis of rotation and disc diameter. A common vertical axis of rotation may be useful so that various heights of the animal are measured in one pass (animal relative to animal width sensor(s)). The discs may be spaced at approximately 30, or 35, or 40, or 45, or 50, or 55, or 60, or 65, or 70, or 75mm increments where multiple discs are used. Multiple discs may be used to cover a range of different height sections. By way of example 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8 discs may be used.

The at least one disc may be segmented so as to have a plurality of pin or prong endings about at least part of the disc circumference. The segmented disc may maintain a generally round shape with the multiple pin or prong endings about the disc circumference having a common length and the pin or prong endings may contact the animal. The pin endings may be sized to penetrate any hair or wool if present on the animal but not so small that the ending penetrates the skin of the animal. The pins may extend from the central axis of the disc at 10, or 15, or 20, or 25, or 30, or 35, or 40 degree increments. The pin length may be 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10, or 20, or 30, or 40, or 50, or 60, or 70, or 80, or 90, or 91, or 92, or 93, or 94, or 95, or 96, or 97, or 98, or 99% of the disc diameter. The pin length may vary depending on the animal to be measured, material costs, rigidity needed and aesthetics.

The at least one animal width sensor may emit an electromagnetic radiation signal directed towards the animal side or sides and the variation in electromagnetic radiation signal length is measured when relative movement occurs between an animal and the animal width sensor in order to determine the animal width. As may be appreciated, the signal length will vary along the animal width and in doing so describe a signal path length specific to the animal width. By tracking arm movement, the light signal length sensor or sensors can determine the animal width. In this embodiment, the animal width sensor may be stationary at least in terms of distance from the animal during animal width measurement. That is, the animal width sensor may still move from the front to the back of the animal but not towards or away from the animal side.

The electromagnetic radiation signal may be a laser light. The electromagnetic radiation signal may be infrared light. The electromagnetic radiation signal may be side scanning radar. As should be appreciated, various different frequencies and forms of electromagnetic radiation may be used to measure the width and the examples provided should not be seen as limiting.

In a further embodiment, the width sensing sensor or sensors may utilise magnetism and/or electrical conductivity in order to measure animal width. While this method is possible in theory, existing cost and complexity may prevent this method being commercially viable at present however the process of measurement and correlation to BCS remains the same and new technologies may alter the viability of these technologies.

The width sensor or sensors may be at a height from the ground approximately inline with the typical animal height range, the height varying according to the animal species, breed and age. This height may be adjustable to suit the animal and enclosure size.

The animal may be selected from livestock. The animal may be selected from: sheep, cows, cattle, goats, deer, llama, pigs although it should be appreciated that the apparatus may be used to measure BCS for other animals.

In one embodiment, the animal width may be measured about one pre-determined point about the animal length. Alternatively, the animal width may be measured about multiple pre-determined points along the animal body. The animal width may be measured about: the chest, the shoulder, the flank, the belly, the rump, the hip, Withers height, hip height and combinations thereof. In a further embodiment, the animal width may be measured continuously along a part or al l of the length of the animal body. In one embodiment, the animal width sensor or sensors measure the animal width substantially around at least the chest area about or in line with the location of the heart of the animal. The shoulder width and the depth from the front of the chest to the back of the shoulder may also be measured parameters. Collectively all three of these parameters may be used to confirm the calculated BCS of the animal, either alone or as a ratio. The animal BCS may further used to calculate animal weight. The inventors have established a relationship between BCS and live weight allowing for the removal of weigh scales or other weight measuring equipment. Notwithstanding this point, the enclosure described above may incorporate at least one weight measuring sensor separate to the at least one width sensor. The at least one weight measuring sensor may send a weight signal to a processor and the measured weight is compared to the calculated animal BCS. This may be used as a calibration variable to ensure accurate and consistent performance. Where calculated BCS and weight differs from a measured weight, an alarm may be raised to alert an operator to a fault in the apparatus.

The apparatus itself may comprise at least one animal separating assembly. The apparatus may alternatively be linked to at least one animal separating assembly. As noted, the apparatus may comprise or be fitted with drafting gates to direct animals of predetermined BCS levels to different locations. The apparatus may be coupled to other drafting parts such as an auto drafter, a handling station, weighing stations, holding pens and other parts used in the art. Separators like this may be useful to draft and group animals of a pre-determined BCS.

The apparatus may further comprise at least one sensor to measure the I D tag of an animal. The sensor may send this ID tag signal to the processor allowing the animal I D to be compiled with the measured animal width and calculated BCS.

A door or doors may be integrated into the apparatus at the entry or exit. The at least one animal width sensor or a part or parts thereof may be integrated into the door or doors. The door or doors may be the arm or arms. Doors if used may be pivotally mounted about a hinge or hinges located on or about each side of the race. The arm or arms or a part thereof may contact the animal and not the door or doors.

In an embodiment where the animal moves relative to a stationary enclosure, the door or doors may prevent the animal from moving backwards encouraging the animal forwards and preventing measurement errors by the animal moving back and forth through the apparatus. The door or doors may be angled forwards with a stop or stops to prevent rearwards motion thereby only allowing forwards movement by the animal. In the event the animal tries to move backwards, the doors lock against the animal preventing rear movement. The door or doors may be biased to a closed or semi- closed position at least partly preventing animal access through the enclosure. The door or doors may be designed so that, when an animal is not passing through the doors, the doors at rest are urged to a semi-closed position however an opening remains therein.

The door or doors may be formed in two sections, a first portion angled inwards relative to the enclosure wall(s) (10, or 15, or 20, or 25, or 30, or 35, or 40 or 45 degrees inward relative to the wall/s) and the second portion joined to the first portion extending forwards from the end of the angled portion approximately in parallel with the enclosure walls. Where two doors are present, the doors may form a raceway that directs the animal forwards. The width sensor or sensors may be integral to and/or fixed to the doors and the extent of opening of the sensors (angular or linear) determines the animal width. The doors may be designed with slots to allow opening as an animal passes through to then engage the arm ending(s) which measure animal width. A purpose of the doors is to prevent an animal engaging with the arm endings first, which could cause injury or at least present a perceived risk or psychological barrier to the animal.

The apparatus described above may be portable being built as a module that can be moved and relocated as necessary. This may be useful in farm situations where the equipment is moved about a single farm or where the apparatus is used on multiple farms.

In a second aspect there is provided a method of determining the BCS of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensor;

(c) using the width and/or height results to determine BCS.

In a third aspect there is provided a method of determining the weight of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensor;

(c) using the width and/or height results to determine animal weight.

In a fourth aspect there is provided a method of determining the meat yield of an animal by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensor;

(c) using the width results to determine animal meat yield.

In a fifth aspect there is provided a method of selecting animals based on their nutritional needs by the steps of:

(a) providing an apparatus substantially as described above; and

(b) urging relative movement between the animal and the at least one width sensor;

(c) using the width and/or height results to determine BCS and using the BCS results to separate animals according to their nutritional needs.

In the above method, animal selection may be based on a percentage. For example animals with the lowest 10% of measured BCS may be separated from an animal group for special treatment.

As may be appreciated, one advantage of the above apparatus and methods is that they do not require the utilisation of cameras or image capture data. Cameras and image capture data can, in the inventors experience, produce variable results. In addition, they require the animal to be almost fully stationary to take an accurate image which in a farm setting is difficult bar selected environments. In addition, cameras are not well suited to external environments such as farms open to wind, rain, dust and temperature extremes plus they can be expensive hence may be useful to avoid for BCS measurement. Further advantages of the above apparatus and methods include the ability to automate the collection of BCS data on animals. The apparatus and method dramatically speed up the process of data capture - in the examiners experience, 16,500 ewes could be accurately analysed for BCS within 2 days as opposed to art methods like palpitation that take up to two weeks to complete. The apparatus may be relatively simple to manufacture and set up hence it is lower cost than art methods using thermal imaging and it is robust enough to handle the extremes of farm yard usage. A further advantage is that by automating this process, labour resource can be re-deployed to other tasks.

The embodiments described above may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the appl ication, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more said parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the embodiments relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth,

Where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

WORKING EXAMPLES

The above described apparatus and methods of use are now described by reference to specific examples.

EXA M P LE 1

Figures 1 to 11 illustrate one embodiment of the apparatus 1.

The apparatus 1 is shown with reference to an animal 2 and a race 3. The animal 2 shown in Figures 1-11 is a sheep however the animal may be various livestock including those common in farming operations. The animal moves in direction A through the race 3. The race 3 includes side walls 4 and an elongated space therein 5. Arms 6 are mounted on the race walls 4, the end 7 of each arm 6 contacting the animal 2 as the animal 2 moves in direction A through the race 3.

A sensor (not shown) in communication with the arm 6 and wall(s) 4 measures arm 6 movement.

Sensors (not shown) may also be located at the end 7 of the arm 6 or at the contact points with the animal 2.

The measured width is used to determine animal 2 BCS.

The race 3 may have a width Z sized to allow easy access for only one animal 2 at a time.

The race 3 width Z may vary depending on the animal 2 size which in turn may be related to animal 2 species, breed and age.

In the embodiments shown in the Figures, two opposing arms 6 are used, linked to opposing side walls 4. The arms 6 are substantially aligned so as to oppose each other when an animal 2 passes between the opposing arms 6.

The arms 6 are axially mounted to the side walls 4 of the race 3 allowing the arms 6 to rotate outwards in direction Y from an at rest position so as to allow the animal 2 to pass through the arms 6. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the arm or arms may be mounted to the race wall or walls so they extend approximately perpendicularly from the wall or walls.

A spring is used (not shown) to urge the arms 6 back to an 'at rest' position at least partially blocking the path of the animal 2 but also allowing the animal 2 to see an exit path.

The arms 6 shown in the Figures are fixed in a vertical plane and are constrained to only move in a horizontal plane, shown as direction Y when the animal 2 passes through the apparatus 1.

The arm 6 at the animal 2 contact point has multiple discs 8, rotatingly linked to the arm 6 ending 7. The disc 8 surface is in an approximately horizontal plane. The discs 8 comprise multiple pins 9 located about the disc 8 circumference and the pin 9 endings 10 contact the animal 2. The pin 9 endings 10 may be sized to penetrate any hair or wool (not shown) if present on the animal 2 but not so small that the ending 10 penetrates the skin of the animal 2. The pins 10 extend from the central axis of the disc 8 in the embodiment shown at 25 degree increments although this could be altered depending on user preference.

The discs 8 rotate so to allow ease of movement of the animal 2 through the arms 6.

The arms 6 are located at a height from the ground approximately aligned with the typical animal 2 height range, the height varying according to the animal 2 species, breed and age.

As noted above, the arms 6 are positioned within the race 3 so as to contact the animal 2 as the animal 2 passes through the race 3 and arms 6. The arms 6 move relative to the race 3 walls 4 and in doing so describe a path specific to the animal 2 width. By tracking arm movement, the sensor or sensors (not shown) determine the animal width. The arm movement sensor or sensors (not shown) may be at least one linear transducer or transducers.

The pin 9 endings 10 that contact the animal 2 also comprise at least one sensor (not shown). Sensors located at the pin 9 endings 10 may assist in collating accurate data on animal 2 width for subsequent processing. The sensor or sensors located at the pin 9 endings 10 may be at least one encoder.

As shown in Figure 6, the sensors may focus on specific measurement points on the animal 2 such as the shoulder width 11, the chest width 12 and the depth from the front of the chest to the back of the shoulder 13. Collectively all three of these parameters may be used to confirm the calculated BCS of the animal 2. The sensed animal 2 width parameters are converted to a signal or signals (not shown) that are received by a processor (not shown) which converts the measured width to a BCS based on a predetermined correlation. The processor may for example be a computer, stand-alone encoder or mobile device. The signal generated by the at least one sensor may be transferred via wires or wirelessly via a wireless network to the processor.

At least one sensor (not shown) may be placed on or about the apparatus 1 that measures the animal I D tag and sends this signal to the processor allowing the animal I D to be compiled against the measured animal 2 width and calculated BCS.

As shown in the Figures, the arms are integrated into doors 14. The doors 14 are pivotally mounted about a hinge or hinges (not shown) located on or about each side of the race 3. The doors 14 prevent the animal 2 from moving backwards thereby preventing measurement errors by the animal 2 moving back and forth through the apparatus 1. The doors 14 are angled forwards. In the event the animal 2 tries to move backwards, the doors 14 lock against the animal 2 preventing rear movement. The doors are biased with a spring (not shown) to a closed or semi-closed position at least partly preventing animal 2 access through the race 3.

As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the doors 14 may be formed in two sections, a first portion 15 angled inwards relative to the race walls (10 to 45 degrees inward relative to the wall/s) and the second portion 16 joined to the first portion 15 extending forwards from the end of the angled portion 15 approximately in parallel with the race 3 walls 4. The doors 14 form a chute that directs the animal 2 forwards.

The opening between the doors 14 / arms 6 in the at rest position is ideally sized smaller than the animal 2 width but wide enough to allow the animal 2 to see the way forwards through the race 3 and therefore encourage movement.

EXAM PLE 2

A test was completed using the apparatus shown in Example 1 using the device on 112 Romney ewes that had a BCS that ranged from 1 to 5. The trial tested the accuracy of the automated method against traditional hand calliper measured BCS. As shown in Table 1 and 2 below, the trial showed that the automated measured BCS correlated well with measurements obtained manually (R=0.85). The error rate of poor reads was 6% and the repeatability of measurements had an error of 4%.

Table 1 : Regression relationships from mixed-age ewes - Correlation coefficients (R) of width parameters of mixed-age ewes with body condition score (BCS) and bodyweight (BWT) as measured using the BCS device (n=98). BCS BWT

BWT 0.66 -

S 0.73 0.68

C 0.77 0.70

F 0.28 0.27

R 0.46 0.40

S+C+F+R 0.80 0.74

C=chest, S=shoulder, R= rump, F=flank

Table 2: Regression relationships from mixed-age ewes - Correlation coefficients (R) of width and height parameters of mixed-age ewes, measured with callipers and a withers height measurement tool, with body weight (BWT) and body condition score (BCS) (n=101).

BCS BWT

BWT 0.62 -

S 0.80 0.73

C 0.77 0.78

F 0.72 0.78

R 0.08 0.19

W 0.07 0.04

H 0.37 0.11

S+C 0.81 0.78

S+C+W 0.81 0.78

S+C+H 0.84 0.82

S+C+F+R 0.83 0.83

S+C+R+W 0.82 0.86

S+C+R+H 0.84 0.83

S+C+F+R+W+H 0.86 0.87

C=chest, S=shoulder, R= rump, F=flank, W= withers height, H=hip height Figure 12 illustrates an example of a captured profile of a ewe (BCS=3.5). The vertical lines across the animal body indicate where the processor has identified the shoulders, chest, flank and rump.

EXAM PLE 3

A trial was completed manually measuring cow BCS figures along with measuring the animal widths manually. The calculated BCS for the cows based on their width was compared to the manually measured BCS figures collected to confirm that the correlation observed in sheep also follows in cattle.

A group of mixed-age, Friesian cross cows were measured at the Tokanui Dairy Research Farm of Agresearch Ltd. Of these, 39 had been 'dried off (ceased milking) a week earlier and a further 18 were still lactating (n=57 in total). BCS ranged from 3 to 5.5.

Custom-made callipers were used to measure the widths of the shoulders, chest, flank and rump. A horse withers height tool was used to measure the height of the withers and hips. Cows were also weighed on commercial scales.

Data were subjected to multiple regression analysis using the Analysis Tool Pack add-in feature of Excel. Table 3 shows the results found illustrating the correlation coefficients (R) for the relationship of width and height parameters with either body condition score (BCS) or body weight (BWT) of mixed-age Friesian and Friesian x cows.

Table 3

BCS BWT

BWT 0.37 -

S 0.53 0.81

C 0.52 0.71

F 0.42 0.89

R 0.29 0.91

W 0.05 0.75

H 0.00 0.68

S + C 0.54 0.81

S + F 0.53 0.92

S + F + W 0.62 0.95

S + F + H 0.62 0.94

S + F + R + W 0.64 0.95 S+F+R+H 0.65 0.94

C + F 0.53 0.90

C + F + H 0.63 0.92

C + F + W 0.61 0.93

C+F+R+H 0.65 0.93

C+F+R+W 0.63 0.94

S+C+F+R+H 0.67 0.95

S+C+F+R+W 0.65 0.95

S+C+F+R+H +W 0.67 0.95

S=Shoulder width, C=Chest width, F=Flank width, R=Rump width, H=Hip height, W=Withers height

Figure 13 shows the correlation between Body weight (BWT) and body condition score (BCS) among 57 cows at Tokanui farm. Figure 14 shows the relationship between BCS determined by palpation and that predicted from multiple regression components of shoulder width, chest width, flank width, rump width and hip height. Figure 15 shows the relationship between BWT weighed with scales and that predicted from multiple regression components of shoulder width, flank width, rump width and withers height.

The results are broadly similar to those obtained for sheep, where measurements of the shoulders, chest, flank, rump, withers height and hip height can be used to estimate body condition score and body weight.

The best relationship between the linear measures and BCS are with shoulders, or chest with flank, rump and one of either withers or hip height. The strength of the correlation (coefficient of determination or R ² ) between linear measures and body condition score is ~0.45. This correlation would be much stronger were a wider range of BCS figures collated (which could not be for ethical reasons (lower BCS) and farm management practices (higher BCS). The strength of the correlation between linear measurements and body weight is strong (R ² = ~0.90) showing BCS can also be used as a predictor of animal body weight.

EXAMPLE 4

Figures 16-20 illustrate an alternative BCS apparatus 100 that might be used for dairy cows 101. The apparatus 100 is much the same as that described in Example 1 however, because cows 101 do not have wool, the pins 102 used on the rotors 103 are shorter. Also, because cows 101 are larger than sheep, the overall apparatus 100 size is increased and the disc rotor 103 height adjusted to suit the larger animal 101. The altered rotor 103 and pin 102 shape is best seen in Figure 20. EXAM PLE 5

As noted in the above description, axially rotating arms may be one method of moving the arms along a horizontal plane as the animal moves past the sensor(s). Figure 21 shows a slide approach instead of a pivoting arm where the rotor arm 200 is linked to rails 201, 202 and is free to move in a linear manner in a horizontal plane either by movement along direction X and/or direction Y noted in the drawing.

Aspects of the apparatus and methods of use have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims herein.